


Don't Hold Your Breath

by BabelFishing



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Bonding, Budding Love, Bullying, Canon Compliant, Chases, Developing Relationship, Drowning, Embarrassment, F/F, Flirting, Inspired by Life Is Strange, One Shot, Panic, Secret Crush, Swimming Pools
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:47:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27191950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabelFishing/pseuds/BabelFishing
Summary: After Boscha tosses Amity's pendant in the Hexside pool, it's up to Luz and Amity to sneak in like cat burglars and nab it back. Their escapade makes for an intimate evening of night swimming - even if they're not mutually ready to admit their feelings just yet. But even without saying it, Luz eventually shows how much her new friend means to her when the pool's perilous nature comes to a head.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 21
Kudos: 216





	Don't Hold Your Breath

**Author's Note:**

> Simply put, the pool scene from Life is Strange is iconic. I tried to imbue its spirit into this one-shot, with a few subtle nods to the original script. Beyond that, I wanted to explore a few different dynamics in this piece, all of which revolve around the pair's unspoken feelings. Those subtle hints drive the action, both through lighthearted and perilous moments.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

“Give it back, Boscha!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Amity’s confrontation with her former friend had suddenly reached a boiling point, causing a small crowd to gather around. Neither girl noticed, though, as their eyes remained trained on one another, waiting for the other to draw their words carefully.

Amity shot from the hip again, in a fraught attempt at forcing Boscha to admit her wrong-doing.

“You’re the only person who could have taken it out of my locker! So, just give it up already.”

“Am I the only one?” Boscha sneered, “Then why do I always see that human girl at your locker? She could have taken it, for all you know.”

Even without mentioning Luz by name, Amity felt some warmth rush to her cheeks. Sure, they’d been sharing a locker lately, but it was just out of convenience (or so she’d insisted to herself time and again). After all, Luz’s locker was practically on the other side of the building, making it nearly impossible for them to see each other between classes. This had been an ingenious solution, Amity had thought at the time, even if it was perhaps a bit self-serving.

All the same, Amity didn’t appreciate the popular girl’s mean-spirited acknowledgement of their arrangement.

“That’s none of your business,” she shot back, taking a step in Boscha’s direction. “Besides, she’d never steal anything from me.”

“To be fair, I did take your wand that one time.”

From out of the crowd, Luz stepped forward while shrugging her shoulders.

“I did give it back, though…sort of.”

Turning with an almost shocked expression on her face, Amity threw a finger to her lips.

“Ssssh…you’re not helping my case here.”

Realizing the nature of the dispute she’d walked into, Luz took a step back and deferred to her friend.

“Oh, sorry. What I meant to say was…I didn’t steal whatever you’re talking about!”

“Exactly! So, tell us where you hid the pendant or else I’ll report it missing to Principal Bump.”

Snitching was not a good look, Amity knew, especially against her own former friend and teammate. But at this point, she was sick of social decorum in all of its forms. If putting Boscha on the hot seat was what it took for her to back off, then so be it.

Boscha wasn’t about to be backed into a corner, though, especially by someone with the nerve to use tattling as a threat.

“Are you seriously threatening to report me? Good luck! You have no proof that I ever touched your chintzy little necklace.”

That was a good point, Amity silently noted. All she had was a hunch – a good, well-reasoned hunch, in light of recent events, but a hunch all the same. Even if she had evidence of the crime in hand, there was still a solid chance that Bump would dismiss it out of hand. After all, it wouldn’t have been the first time Boscha used her family name to get her out of a tight spot – an indulgence Amity knew too well from her own upbringing.

Now recognizing the gathering crowd, Amity tried to take her tone down a notch.

“Okay, then who has my pendant? You know how much it means to me.”

“Like I said, I don’t know where your dumb pendant is!” the pink-haired witch insisted, “but you know what? I remember hearing stories about lost stuff showing up in the bottom of the school pool from time to time. Must be those pesky borrowers that live in the walls and nab stuff at night. Right, Amity?”

_Dammit._

Just as she was about to shout her contempt for the whole atrium to hear, Amity’s rejoinder was drowned out by the piercing shriek of the school bell. In turn, the crowd around the pair began to disperse, with whispers abounding as the school’s denizens anticipated more conflict later on. Seeing this as an ideal moment to make an exit, Amity clutched her textbooks tight to her chest and stormed off.

After trudging a few swift paces down the corridor, the green-haired witch heard a voice calling out to her from behind.

“Amity, wait up!”

A few seconds later, Luz caught up and started walking by her side. Her expression spoke of concern mixed with intrigue at the scene she’d just witnessed.

“So, what was that all about?”

Based on her tone, Amity was reassured that her human friend was not trying to be nosy. But that didn’t make it any easier to explain such a public quibble.

“Boscha took my grandmother’s pendant and chucked it in the pool,” she curtly explained, “probably to get back at me for siding against them in grudgeby.”

“Wow, that’s pretty awful of her,” Luz sympathized.

Amity didn’t reply immediately, instead turning her gaze downward and taking on a more somber expression.

“This must be what it felt like for everyone else.”

Looking perplexed again, Luz tilted her head inquisitively.

Having reached the outside of their next shared class, Amity stopped beside the doorway and waved Luz over. Her somber look had given way to some measure of discontent.

“I know why Boscha threw my pendant in the pool, of all places. We used to play the same prank of people that the grudgeby team didn’t like for…no real reason at all. To assert our dominance, I guess.”

After pushing back a loose bang, she continued. “Now they’re using it against me to make a point. They probably don’t even care if I can get it back. They’ll probably just do it again at the first opportunity.”

Upon seeing her friend looking so downtrodden, Luz tried to find a silver lining.

“Hey, it’s okay. We can get it back this time, for sure. In fact, I can help you do it. Have I ever told you that I’m a great swimmer? They even made me a deputy lifeguard at my old summer camp.”

As sweet as the offer was, Amity didn’t want to make Luz any more of a target than she already was as the school’s only human.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll just handle Boscha on my own.”

Luz wasn’t ready to take “no” for an answer, though. More than anything these days, she found herself going out of her way to impress Amity at every turn. Retrieving this pendant sounded like a prime opportunity to dazzle her special friend once again, which was a reward enough.

“Nonsense, chica! We can get it back way quicker if we stick our heads together. Plus, I could go for a nice dip.”

Recognizing that Luz would tag along no matter what, Amity relented.

“Okay…you can help.”

Upon seeing Luz’s eyes light up, she raised a finger and added, “but you can’t tell anyone about it. The only way we can get the pendant back without Boscha or her clique noticing is by coming back in the evening.”

“Oooooo, romantic night swimming! Sounds fun!”

Immediately, Amity could feel her face growing warm again. Until Luz humorously alluded to it, she hadn’t considered how intimate this expedition sounded at first blush. But for now, she didn’t let herself indulge the thought – even if Luz might have been.

“Um…well…” she stuttered, trying to collect her thoughts, “actually, we’re going to have to sneak in after the school closes. Otherwise, the swim team will probably tell Boscha that I went after it.”

As she vocalized her tentative plan, Amity began to feel her stomach flipping over. As soon as they stepped back on school grounds after hours, they’d be breaking the rules – something she rarely did intentionally. Even picking on other students was technically within bounds – for the popular grudgeby team, anyway. But now, she didn’t have that status, so this escapade would surely carry consequences if they were caught.

Luz, however, sounded as eager as ever to jump into the fray.

“It’s a secret spy mission, then! If that’s the case, we’ll need a way in after the doors are locked.”

Realizing that the passing period was nearly over, Amity admitted, “I hadn’t really thought it through that far yet.”

“Leave it to me, then,” Luz grinned while placing her hand on Amity’s shoulder, “I bet Eda knows a million different ways into this place.”

The school bell screamed again, signaling the end to the pair’s impromptu planning session. But before parting for their respective ends of the classroom, Luz pipped up again.

“Where should we meet up tonight?”

Peering out of the classroom window quickly, Amity replied, “beneath the abominations banner out front?”

Smiling, Luz agreed.

“It’s a date, then.”

\---

Hours later, the crescent moon shone down on the dark windows of Hexside School for Magic and Demonics. Evening extra-curriculars and clubs had let out hours ago, leaving the enchanted school grounds tranquil, save for the flapping of nine colored banners over the main causeway. There, in the shadow of the magenta abominations coven banner, Luz stood waiting to meet up with her accomplice.

Checking her phone, she noted that it was now 15 minutes past the agreed-upon meet-up time. Frowning slightly, she checked up the path that led toward Bonesborough proper once more – no one there. Worry, more than impatience, started to creep into Luz’s mind.

_Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to sneak around the school grounds at night…_

But just as her doubts started to build, a shadowy figure raced out of the tree line along the cobblestone path. Thinking on her feet, Luz reached for her pocket and pulled out a spell paper slip and slapped it between her palms. A small orb of light rose from the parchment tab, illuminating the area all around the base of the banner pole.

Just as Luz’s eyes readjusted to the sudden change in lighting, the shadowy figure came into full view a few paces away. Running toward her was Amity Blight, dress in black from head to toe. In her haste, Amity blew past Luz and ran right up to the banner pole, where she slowed to a halt. Panting slightly, Amity looked up to see a face of concern staring back at her.

“Oh…Luz…” she managed between heavy breaths, “you’re here already.”

“You bet I am, chica,” Luz replied happily, “I never show up late for a heist.”

Leaning one hand on the pole for support, Amity questioned, “do you do this…often?”

Shaking her head, Luz maintained her eager tone.

“I mean, I technically helped get King’s crown back from the Reformatory. But besides that, I’m still new to this.”

Her composure now recovered, Amity straightened up and wiped a bead of sweat from her brow.

“Same here. I don’t think I’ve ever been in Hexside this late at night, either.”

Luz turned to look at the imposing school building as well, its walls and towers bathed gently in the moonlight. Even from that distance, she could see small twinkles of color as the moonlight passed through the structure’s numerous stained-glass windows.

The moonlight also fell softly on her companion, despite her inky attire. Gesturing in Amity’s direction, Luz asked, “what’s with the outfit? I came dressed for the occasion, too, but you’ve definitely got a look going.”

Though it was too dark to see clearly, Amity’s face immediately grew a shade more crimson. With a slightly flustered tone, the green-haired witch tried to justify her choice of matching black jeans and hooded cloak.

“Is this not right? I didn’t know what to wear so I just picked out as much black stuff as I could find.”

Waving off her friend’s concern slightly, Luz reasoned, “No no, what you picked is fine. You just have this real punk rock vibe now and I’m really digging it.”

Though Luz didn’t know it then, her off-handed compliment ended up influencing the unusual amount of black her friend wore whenever they met up outside of school during the following weeks. To the same end, Luz didn’t hear Amity’s pulse suddenly quicken in the moment as it tried to process the feeling of being seen by the apple of her eye.

Fortunately, Amity was able to pass off her stammering as a continued effort to catch her breath.

“I…um…I’m glad you think they’re…that.”

Not noticing her friend’s embarrassed response, Luz simply stuck out her tongue playfully. She then gestured up the road and began to pace toward the school building. Amity followed right after, her pulse relaxing now that her appearance was no longer the focus of conversation.

Once they passed the final set of banner poles, Luz pipped up with a mostly obvious question.

“So, why were you running up here? Were you that eager to see me?”

After returning home from school, Amity had laid flat on her floor to fully digest what she’d agreed to by allowing Luz to join this recovery mission. Without a doubt, they’d both be putting themselves at risk for serious trouble if they were caught trespassing. But perhaps worse yet, it would be just the two of them, alone, traipsing through the dark school corridors.

Despite that, Amity was undeniably eager to see Luz as the late evening hours snuck by. But she wasn’t going to admit as much, especially when the truth behind her sprinting was more straightforward.

“Oh, that…I thought I saw something or someone in the road right before I got here. I could only see their eyes, but they were glowing and staring straight at me – even when I stopped. I thought it was following me so…I ran.”

Nonchalantly, Luz chuckled and grinned.

“Oh, that was probably King. He said he’d keep a lookout for us while we were inside.”

“It had better be…” Amity trailed off just as the pair reached the school’s front steps. Looking up at the imposing, wrought-iron front doors, she added, “I don’t suppose we’re going to be able to get in that way, are we?”

Shaking her head, Luz gestured over toward some of the shrubbery that surrounded the near side of the stairway.

“I don’t think so. But we have a better way in.”

“Oh?”

“I didn’t actually need to ask Eda for help with this one. I talked to Viney during potions and she said there should be a hidden doorway right over…”

Luz trailed off as she began to wander into the thicket. Amity waited behind until she heard Luz call out, “…here!” Skirting the prickliest part of the bush, Amity waded in and eventually popped out in a hidden grove between the foliage and the school’s aged granite walls.

Though very little moonlight reached the hidden grotto, Amity could just make out Luz’s form. Then, as she watched Luz reach out toward the wall with her palm open, a tight burst of light diffused around what appeared to be a doorknob. Luz then grasped the solidifying knob, turned it, and pulled open a slab-like door.

“Ta-da! A perfect entrance for a black cat burglar,” Luz proclaimed, in reference to her friend’s adornments.

Frowning slightly, Amity walked over and peaked in the new doorway.

“I already told you, we’re not burglars. This pendant is mine, so this is more of a… retrieval quest, like when Azura had to obtain the Crystal of Clarity from the Lucid Swamp.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” acknowledged Luz while activating a light glyph. “But you still look like a black cat. In fact…”

With the light orb now hovering between them of its own accord, Luz reached back and drew up the blue hood of her jacket, allowing its attached ears to protrude proudly from the crown of her head.

“Now we’re just a pair of cool cats, sneaking into school to get back what’s ours!”

Amity was ready to point out, again, that the pendant belonged to her. But only nervous laughter came out, mainly in response to seeing Luz with her cat-ear hood up. Not only that, but the newly opened pathway into what appeared to be the base of the school building was pitch black, save for the small illuminated oval around Luz’s light orb.

Luz, however, looked as gung-ho as ever. Gesturing for Amity to follow, she started firmly along the inward path, looking confident that she knew where she was headed. Amity followed close behind, her eyes locked on the myriad cobwebs that choked each side of the narrow corridor. The threat of spiders wasn’t a big concern in her mind. But having a hand to hold might have helped her feel more at ease about purposely breaking the school rules.

After a minute or two, the pathway began to brighten, with its source originating from a cracked door a few paces ahead. Once there, Luz placed her hand on the door and turned toward Amity.

“You’re about to enter one of the greatest enigmas in all of Hexside. In fact, it is only known to some of the best troublemakers in the school’s entire history. It’s a secret, though, so you have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone else about it.”

“Yeah, absolutely, I promise.” Amity was more than willing to agree to just about anything Luz said, no questions asked.

Pushing the door open wide now, Luz gestured for her companion to enter first.

“Great! Then may I formally welcome you to…the Secret Room of Shortcuts!”

Stepping past the threshold, Amity beheld a towering chamber the likes of which she’d never seen in her many years at Hexside. Though the room was mostly lit by moonlight from a skylight above, the green-haired witch inspected the room in awe of its many doors, which hung Escher-like at every imaginable angle. The room’s corkscrewed walkway also caught the young witch’s eye, causing her to wonder who could have created such a surreal space.

“Luz, this is…amazing. How did you ever find this place?”

“My friend Viney let me in here when I landed in the detention track. Her friends Barcus and Jerbo used to use these doors to peak into classrooms around the school because they weren’t allowed out of the detention track. Now, though, I think they just use it when they want to get around the school quickly.”

“That’s why,” Luz continued, “I thought it would be perfect for this little expedition. If we’re lucky, there might be a door that leads right to the pool. There’s just one problem – none of these doors are labeled. So, we might need to search around to find the right one.”

Peering around once more at the myriad, multicolored doors that dotted the surrounding walls, Amity felt intimidated by the task. Hesitantly, she reached for the nearest door and pushed it open.

Therein, she saw an empty abominations classroom, complete with placid jars of clay. Upon a closer inspection, Amity realized that it was the same lecture hall in which she shared an afternoon class with Luz.

“Well, it’s not this one,” she reported back to her human companion, who had similarly stepped through a nearby doorway.

“Neither is this one,” Luz indicated, her head peeking around the corner of the threshold. “This one looks like it leads outside to the grudgeby pitch.”

For close to an hour, the pair continued to inspect the chamber’s doors in this pattern. Every now and then, Amity thought that she’d found the right one, based upon its exterior appearance. But even as she made her way up the chamber’s corkscrewed walkway, she came up empty-handed each time.

After checking her 37th door – a crystal ball storage closet in an unused oracle track classroom – Amity sighed and moseyed over to the walkway’s edge. Though she was now a couple stories up, she sat down and sighed again, her black-clad legs dangling down over the room’s center.

“Are you sure there’s a doorway to the pool in here?” Amity called out, her motivation for this supposed shortcut waning.

Gingerly closing the door to one of the school’s greenhouses, Luz replied loudly from across the room.

“I don’t know for sure. Viney said that there are doors to everywhere in here…but maybe that didn’t include the pool.”

After pacing down the walkway’s incline, Luz swung her legs over the edge and scooted next to Amity.

“Maybe we should just go back and sneak in the normal way,” she suggested, discouragement weighing heavy in her tone. “This is taking longer than I thought…”

Just as she proposed it, though, Amity’s eyes caught sight of two similar doors, positioned side-by-side near the chamber’s apex. With her eyes still fixed on the double doors, she responded, “…or we might still find the right doors.”

Placing her hand on Amity’s shoulder, Luz smiled and turned her head apologetically.

“That’s nice of you to say, but I think this little shortcut may have been a bust.”

“No, seriously,” Amity reiterated while pointing at her mark, “I think I found the right doors.”

Following her friend’s gesture, Luz inspected the twin doors from a distance. They were metal-plated, unlike most of the reinforced wood gateways used throughout the building. At a glance, they even appeared to be labeled – a rarity in this haphazardly-arranged alcove.

Squeezing her friend’s shoulder with excitement, Luz jumped to her feet and yelled, “Amity! I think those are it.”

Before her companion could get to her feet, Luz dashed up the walkway with a renewed exuberance. By the time Amity had risen, the spirited human had covered a full rotation of the room and was approaching her destination.

Without further delay, Amity brushed herself off and took off in pursuit. The run uphill felt tiring, even though her pace allowed her to cover the necessary distance in under a minute. Upon arrival, she immediately spotted Luz, who had posted up against the strip of stone wall separating the two doors.

“You were right, Amity,” Luz excitedly confirmed, “both of these lead to the pool. Or, the locker rooms, anyway, based on their signs.” At the same time, she gestured to the pictorial signs affixed to each door, indicating the pool’s binary changing facilities. A bit outdated, sure, but there would be time to advocate for more inclusive accommodations later.

“So,” Luz continued with a sly grin spreading across her face, “what’s it gonna be – boys or girls?”

Hesitating, Amity replied at first with only a puzzled look. She detected something coy in her friend’s tone, as if she weren’t really seeking input on their path to the pool. If anything, Luz sounded like she was subtly trying to gauge a preference between the two, almost as if she were asking about…

_Oh._

All at once, Amity felt her nerves activate to red alert. Her mouth ran dry in an instant, causing her tongue to grow dull and inarticulate. While nervously scratching her neck, she tried to provide a half-sane response. But after a few false starts, she only managed to eke out, “I…um…girls?…”

Her reluctant response might have sufficed. But an amorous force took hold of Amity’s usually sharp wits, leading her to blurt out more muddled clarifications.

“I mean, I’ve only ever been in the girls locker room, so that would make more sense. Plus, I like girls…I MEAN I like the girls locker room, it’s nicer from…um…what I hear. I’ve never been in the boys locker room, though. It’s always been the girls locker room for me…yep.”

As soon as the last word trickled out, Amity tried to self-chastise her nonchalance.

_Get it together, Amity. She’s just asking which door to go through. She didn’t mean anything else by it…unless she did and this was a test to see if…to see if…_

All the while, Amity’s face had turned beet red, her eyes wide like a deer in the headlights. The entire school building had been cooled by the midnight air, but Amity still felt her body growing tepid – and her brief sprint was not at all the cause.

Luz, meanwhile, had already taken a step toward the left-most door. With her hand on the fixture, ready to push it open, she turned her head back and quipped, “Oh, ya veo.”

“What…what was that?” Amity queried, assuming now that her mental tumult had affected her hearing.

“No es nada,” insisted Luz while waving a deflective gesture toward her companion. “Pero, me preguntaba…¿Te gusta chicas?”

Still puzzled by her friend’s sudden shift in vernacular, Amity tried to parse out the best way to respond to the perceived question.

“Um…yes?”

 _That should be fine_ , the young witch concluded mentally as she took a step toward the locker room door. _I mean, what’s the worst that I could be agreeing to?_

_Oh no. She knows what I asked._

Just as her friend’s self-conscious fretting began to subside, Luz could feel her own pulse suddenly quicken with worry. As the pair made their way through the pitch-black locker room by the light of a fresh glyph, Luz’s thoughts began to wander back to her previous attempt at levity. Maybe it was a bit bold to straight up ask, but she also wasn’t expecting an answer one way or another.

“Is everything okay, Luz?”

From behind, Amity voiced her concern about her friend’s ongoing silence.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Luz shot back quickly, her voice shaking slightly. “I’m just a little creeped out by the dark locker room, that’s all.”

Just as she offered up the excuse, a splash of faint, aqua-tinted light crept into the pair’s view. Assuming that their destination was right ahead, Luz continued on and through an open doorway. Even before crossing the threshold, the unmistakable tang of aquatic chlorine clued her into their arrival at the inner sanctum.

“Wooooow.”

It wasn’t Luz’s first time visiting an indoor pool, by any means. But as the full length of the Hexside pool came into view, she realized that she’d never seen this kind of aquatic hub at night.

Despite being underground (presumably), a fair amount of moonlight poured in through hazy windows placed all along the upper perimeter of the room, near its high ceiling. There, the water’s gentle reflection danced and shimmered in silence, bathing the entire space in a calming light akin to a green flash at sunset.

Surprised by her companion’s reaction, Amity asked, “Oh, have you not been down here before?”

“No, not at all,” Luz replied while walking up to the water’s edge, “I don’t even know how to get down here.”

“It’s a little tricky, thanks to the poltergeist that haunts the old pump house. That’s why I’m glad we found that shortcut. I mean, we could probably have convinced him to let us in – he never liked the grudgeby team hiding stuff in _his_ pool, anyway. He shouldn’t bother us if we’re in and out quiiiiiiiiii- ”

Without warning, Amity’s train of thought was derailed when her hand reflexively flew to her face. At first, she scrambled to cover her mouth, as if it had almost let slip some embarrassing secret. But after blinking again, to confirm what her two gold eyes were seeing, she slide her palm over her eyes, not allowing herself to peek for even a moment.

“LUZ! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

She hadn’t meant to shout, in light of their operation’s covert nature. But Amity’s fluster had returned in full force the moment she saw Luz pulling off her jacket and shirt in one, fluid motion.

The attempt at preserving her friend’s modesty was premature, though. No more than a second after Amity let out her howl, Luz finished removing her usual outer garments to reveal the upper half of a teal-and-black bathing suit.

Amity’s sudden outburst had caught Luz by surprise, causing her to jolt forward and almost tilt face first into the pool. But after regaining her balance, she turned back to her black-clad companion, alert for an intruder.

“What’s up? Did that creepy pool ghost show up?”

“No…it’s not that…”Amity stammered, still without peeking through her self-imposed veil. “It’s just you…your shirt…you didn’t give me any warning.”

Looking down at the shirt and hoodie bunched up in her hand, Luz simply shrugged.

“Oh, these? I’m wearing my swimsuit underneath. I told you I was dressed for the occasion.”

Recalling the comment from earlier in the evening, Amity slowly lowered her hand and laughed nervously to herself.

“Oh, right…I just wasn’t expecting that.”

Even after adjusting to the sight, Amity felt her face burning up. Her blush hadn’t fully faded from before and now, it had all the more reason to linger in her cheeks. Amity, for her part, lingered for a moment too long as well, watching the reflected moonlight paint her opposite in turquoise hues.

After a minute or two, Luz spoke up again.

“Everything okay back there, Blight? You look like you’re nervous about getting in.”

“Oh, it’s not that,” Amity shot back without pausing to consider her words. “I mean, I am nervous. But not about this or you or anything! I just need to… get my swimsuit! That’s it. It’s in my locker so I’ll just get that…now.”

With that, Amity turned on her heels and started to pace back to the locker room. Luz, meanwhile, stayed at the pool’s edge, kicking gently at the surface. To her surprise, the water felt warm to the touch, as if it had been exposed to day-long sunlight. It reminded her of summer camp the year before, and all the friends she made from Roanoke cabin on an outing at the lake.

Minutes later, just as she finished zipping her suit – a one-piece like Luz’s, with sleeves that extended midway down her upper arms and legs, respectively - Amity heard a sizable splash ring out through the otherwise vacant pool hall. Dashing back out to the deck, she scanned the area and didn’t spot Luz. Immediately, an assortment of worst case scenarios teamed into her head, leading her to question if bringing Luz along on this forsaken errand had been worth it.

Without a second thought to consider her options, Amity rushed across the pool deck and readied herself to plunge in, assuming now that Luz had been drawn under by some unseen force. For a split second, she thought her fears had been confirmed when she saw a dark form rise from beneath the oscillating surface.

But just as she reached the aquatic precipice, the watery form broke the surface. Now expecting a fight from whatever beast Boscha and company had deposited in the pool, Amity felt her pulse run cold when the form turned in her direction and began to speak.

“Amity! What are you waiting for? The water feels great!”

Letting loose her pre-emptively held breath, Amity sighed as she realized that Luz was the pool’s only occupant…as far as she could see, at least. Still caught up in the rush, she tried to reply without sounding too frantic.

“Luz…you scared me. I thought there was something else out here.”

“Nope, just me,” Luz called back with a chipper wave. “But there’s room for two in here. Get in!”

Luz then cupped her hands and forced them down into the water, sending a spray of chlorinated brine in Amity’s direction. The young witch tried to dodge out of the way, but she took the brunt of the splash head on.

“Stop it!” she hollered back, only half-bothered by the playful gesture.

“Make me, Blight!”

Amity knew she couldn’t argue with that kind of feisty attitude.

“Alright, you asked for it!”

Stepping back slightly and starting into a sprint, Amity charged toward the pool and leapt into the air over its center-most edge. After a short arc through the humid air, she crashed landed in the clear waters, sending up a cannonball’s worth of spray in all directions. Luz tried to dodge back from the blast radius but instead ducked under the surface just as Amity made contact.

After plunging into the depths momentarily, both girls rose back to the surface for a fresh breath of air. As she did so, Luz pushed back her water-logged hair with both hands. Amity made the same task look effortless, though, as she whipped her dyed-green bangs back hands-free, revealing more of her walnut brown roots.

Once the excess water drained away her eyes, Amity nearly gasped due to Luz’s sudden proximity. At less than an arm’s length away, Luz was grinning right at her. But rather than feeling her usual mix of intimidation and fluster, she actually felt comfortable in Luz’s presence. Something about the atmosphere at sea level allowed those trepidations to melt away, leaving only the unbridled joy she felt whenever this particular girl drew near.

Seizing the moment, Amity splashed back in Luz’s direction, causing the latter to dodge out of the way with a laugh.

“Would you look at that,” Amity exclaimed while readying for another volley, “there’s an otter in my water!”

Throwing up a hand to block the spray, Luz couldn’t help but laugh more. Once the aquatic assault ceased, she threw a down-turned hand to her chin while leveling a suspense-laden glare.

“Not just any otter! An otter with a dark side!”

The quip started them both laughing again, leading to yet more splashes being exchanged. The crossfire died down after a few minutes, leaving both participants simply floating out in the middle of the moonlit pool. For a moment, both girls forgot why they were here in the first place, choosing instead to internally revel in the other’s presence.

Once their mutual giggles subsided, Amity started to gaze around the chamber’s atrium once more. Their thrashing about had disturbed the water’s surface noticeably, causing more chaotic reflections to dance in and out of the chamber’s corners. As she watched each wispy band of light cascade to and fro, she was reminded of their original reason for diving into the deep end together.

“Oh, right. My pendant…”

As she trailed off, she cast her gaze down to the pool’s depths, where she initially only caught sight of Luz’s kicking legs. Looking beyond them, though, she noticed something reflective in the deepest section of the pool.

“Luz, look. I think I see it.”

Nodding in agreement, Luz caught sight of the same distant shape.

“Yeah, I think I see it. I bet I can get it, too.”

In an bid to prove herself, Luz then dove beneath the surface, her feet kicking up into the air as she tried to propel herself downward. Amity reached out, as if to stop her, but found herself a moment too late. Instead, she watched as Luz dove deeper and deeper toward the drain, until her form was almost entirely obscured by the shifting waters.

Soon enough, though, she could see Luz’s form darting back upward. Thinking that Luz had accomplished the task, Amity paddled over toward the pool’s edge. Panting for air, Luz disappointedly shook the water from her face.

“It was...deeper than I expected.”

“It’s 9 feet deep, I think. I guess I never thought about it when we used to throw people’s stuff in here…”

Her breath recovered, Luz looked fully determined to succeed once again. “9 feet or not, I know I can get it. Wait here!”

Pushing off from the wall, Luz again plunged into the depths, her downward stroke more fierce than on her previous attempt. The first several feet of descent glided by effortlessly. But yet again, the last foot of depth imposed an invisible barrier that her meager lungs couldn’t abide.

Crashing back to the surface, Luz again panted over to the pool’s edge.

“I was *this* close to getting it,” she indicated to her companion, who had wadded over with a look of concern in her eyes. “I know I can get it this time.”

“Luz, wait,” Amity warned, her hand reflexively casting out and latching onto her friend’s wrist, “give yourself a moment to recover.”

Smiling, despite a fresh wave of lightheadedness, Luz shook her head in disagreement.

“No, I almost had it. This is...the whole reason I wanted to come with you - so I could impress you by getting this pendant back...and then if I did, you might…you might...”

Now earnestly short on air, Luz trailed off without revealing her hand. Instead, she focused on recuperating while Amity floated nearby, silently wondering what her friend had nearly revealed.

But she didn’t idly ponder those wishful thoughts for long. After all, they still had a job to do before someone caught them.

“I’m going to try.”

“Try what?”

“To get my pendant back.”

Having recovered her composure, Luz levied a light splash in Amity’s direction, to dissuade her from hassling herself.

“Seriously, I’m a good swimmer. I can get it.”

“I know,” the green-haired witch affirmed, “but it’s my pendant. I should at least try to get it back on my own.”

Recognizing her friend’s genuine intent, Luz pulled herself up and sat on the pool’s edge.

“Alright, you win. Let’s see if you have what it takes to beat the Otter!”

Chuckling a bit, Amity pulled herself out of the pool as well and rose to her feet. Looking out at the pool’s center, she locked her sights on her target, hoping that her resolve would be enough to power her through this undertaking. Looking down to Luz for encouragement, she felt her veins warm to the task ahead when the self-proclaimed swimmer beamed warmly and shouted, “you can do it, Amity!”

Finally, after a few more metered breaths, the youngest Blight stepped up to the rim and sprung into the air. As she leapt forward, she drew her hands up and executed a surprisingly precise dive – just like she had learned in swim lessons years ago. This smooth entrance made it that much easier to descend a full half the necessary depth before she even began kicking.

But as soon as she engaged her arms and begin her downward crawl, Amity remembered why she had quit taking swim lessons, summer after summer. Through and through, she’d never managed to master even basic swimming techniques, leaving her to dog paddle around the pool when necessary.

Now at least 6 feet down, Amity tried to call upon her motivation from moments before to kick her arms into proper motion. At the same time, she tried to will her legs to kick hard – hard enough to get her within reach of the pendant. As she crossed the 7-foot mark, her self-propelled progress gave her the feeling that, just maybe, she could do this.

But quickly, that confidence gave way when she hit the same invisible barrier as Luz. Though the barrier wasn’t tangible or even magical in nature, Amity found it harder and harder to inch downward. Still, though, she tried to impel herself downward, her arms and legs now thrashing hard without any rhythm.

Seconds later, as she drew within the final foot of depth, Amity felt her lungs demand a fresh re-supply. But she didn’t heed their warning, now that she could practically feel the chain in her hand. Reaching out, she struggled to close the distance, one strained kick at a time.

Then, just as she felt the barrier break away, Amity’s finger snagged the pendant by the chain, which floated ghost-like above the pool floor. In her excitement, she clamped her hand around it and tried to shout up to Luz. But remembering just a split second too late, a gush of water filled her mouth and nearly cascaded straight to her oxygen-starved lungs.

From the pool’s edge, Luz watched eagerly. Right as Amity took hold of the necklace, the young human jumped to her feet and cheered with astonishment. In her heart, she believed that Amity could do literally anything. But she still felt surprised that her new best friend had managed to do this all on her own, on the very first try.

Quickly, though, Luz sensed that something was amiss. By now, Amity should have crested the surface again, glimmering trinket in hand. The witch herself was still deep below the surface, however, and not apparently making any swift effort to ascend.

“Amity…no…”

Like her camp lifeguard the summer before, Luz immediately sprang into action and plunged back into the pool. With a sharp sense of urgency fueling her, she kicked with all her might, hoping that her efforts would make up for her subpar entry. In what felt like the blink of an eye, she closed most of the lateral distance, until she was just above Amity’s location.

Much to Luz’s dismay, however, Amity didn’t move or even react to her sudden appearance. Fearing the worst, Luz threw out her hand and grasped for her friend’s wrist. Missing on the first pass, she contorted her shoulder further to try again. This time, she met her mark and managed to secure one of Amity’s trim wrists.

Heaving Amity’s nearly weightless form upward, Luz called on a previously unknown reserve of strength to power them both back to safety. In the rush of the moment, she hardly considered the possibility that her own body would fail, just as it had on her previous attempts at the pendant.

Now, she knew that she had to succeed. After all, this dive’s objective was far more precious than any piece of jewelry.

With that commitment now the North Star in her mind, Luz managed to hoist Amity through all 9 feet and back into the fresh air above. After breaking the surface in her own right, Luz quickly grabbed back onto her friend and dragged her to the pool’s edge. Just as they reached it, Luz noticed that Amity still hadn’t taken a single breath, making it appear that the worst wasn’t over.

“Come on, Amity…it’s going to be alright. Please just be alright. Please, please be alright…”

She wasn’t sure who she was pleading to, but at this moment, Luz hoped anyone out there would listen. Scrambling up the poolside wall, she harnessed yet more reserved strength to heave Amity on to the deck. Once there, she tried to search her memory for her camp lesson on aquatic rescues, even though those low-stake demonstrations now felt impossibly far away.

“Okay, first come the chest compressions…” Luz reminded herself as she knelt down beside her unconscious companion. Cupping her palms together, she centered herself over Amity’s sternum and began. Midway through, she felt Amity’s chest tighten beneath her, followed by a sputtering cough.

Believing that Amity had some water lodged in her windpipe, Luz shifted down and prepared herself for the next step. At camp, no one had looked forward to this part, especially during partner exercises. But now that the stakes had been raised, Luz didn’t hesitate as she pinched her friend’s nose, connected their lips, and breathed in with her remaining might.

As if she’d been imbued with new life, Amity’s body reacted immediately by seizing tight, then releasing a heavy, sodden rasp. Luz pulled back in response, allowing Amity’s coughing to continue. Without a doubt, each new wheeze sounded awful. But they also signaled that her efforts had worked, which filled the young human with an unyielding sense of relief.

Between successive fits, Amity’s eyes flashed open, providing her just a momentary view of her savior still kneeling beside her. Just as she tried to say her name, another heavy bark came on, causing her to reflexively sit up and lean over. Each cough brought up yet more chlorinated water and in some small measure, relief to the half-drowned swimmer.

As her coughing became more intermittent, Amity managed to turn back toward Luz, who was looking on expectantly. After gathering herself for a moment longer, she slicked her loose bangs back and croaked, “Luz…what happened?”

“You tried to get the pendant on your own,” Luz started in before feeling the rest of her thoughts catch in her throat. After taking another calming breath in, she continued, “…and you didn’t come back up.”

Despite occurring only minutes before, Amity’s memory of the preceding events were foggy. As she leaned away and coughed some more, she recalled diving in the deep end and approaching the drain point with relative ease. But at the same time, the incendiary feeling of oxygen depletion raced back into her conscious, followed by the sudden feeling of inundation after she caught ahold of the necklace.

“So…I was drowning then,” Amity stated gravely, not as a question but as a verbal confirmation of her near miss.

Luz nodded.

“And you…pulled me out?”

Another nod.

Registering the enormity of the situation, Amity cast her eyes to the pool for a moment before looking straight on at Luz. Had she not elected to come along, just for the kick of it, then…

Amity shuttered at the thought of that eventuality. Grim as it was, though, it hadn’t come to pass because of whatever spell Luz had cast upon her. She was thankful for that, even as the warmth of that spell lingered lightly on her lips.

Trying not to chuckle too hard and consequently irritate her ailing lungs, Amity looked over to Luz again and asked, “Did I at least get the pendant?”

Silently, Luz smiled in return and nodded her head toward Amity’s right side. Following the gesture, Amity looked down and realized that, intertwined in her fingers, the gold pendant now lay motionless, recaptured after an unexpected trip to the depths of an indoor ocean.

“Oh.”

Just then, as Amity caught her reflection in the piece’s mirrored surface, a spotlight flashed into both girls’ eyes. A voice rang out, heavy and imposing, while both girls tried to shield their eyes.

“Who’s there?”

Simultaneously, Luz and Amity felt their hearts sink.

“We gotta go,” Luz demanded as she jumped to her feet. Not in any condition to disagree, Amity agreed and tried to rise quickly.

Stumbling slightly on the wet pool deck, Amity felt her companion throw a supportive arm around her shoulder.

“I’ve got you,” Luz reassured her, “now, let’s get out of here!”

And with that, both girls took off at a uniform stride, with Luz setting the pace as they rounded the corner to the front side of the pool. Once there, the spotlight caught them again and remained on them as they approached the far end, where the locker rooms were located.

“Stop! You’re trespassing on school property!”

The booming voice rang out again, making it clear that its owner had stepped into the pool chamber proper. Even over the sound of their own wet feet slapping the stone walkway, both Amity and Luz could tell that their pursuer was gaining on them by the thunder of their boots.

Just as they drew within a few paces of the locker room door, Luz’s eyes grew wide and she stumbled slightly over a gap in the pavement.

“My clothes,” she gasped, snapping her head back to a pool-side bench they had just passed.

Without missing a beat, Amity shot back, “I got it!”

Without warning, she then broke away from Luz’s support and bolted back to the pool’s edge. Nimbly, she managed to snag Luz’s hoodie, shorts, and shoes in a single motion before shifting her momentum back in her friend’s direction.

Turning her eyes back toward her objective, Amity spotted Luz leaning out of the locker room doorway, gesturing with both hands. Even without yelling and giving away her identity to the security guard, Amity could clearly read Luz’s frantic waving - “come on, come on!”

Even as she felt another spell of water-borne coughing coming on, Amity picked up her pace and managed to make it to Luz’s side without missing a beat. Side-by-side once more, both girls turned tail and bolted into the locker room’s darkness. There, Luz hoped she could find their secret door again – that is, without being caught first.

Rounding a corner, Amity spotted the set of shower heads between which they emerged over an hour earlier. After calling out the spot to her companion, she doubled back around a nearby bank of lockers and nabbed her own clothing. While securing each article in her folded arms, she rounded another corner and bolted back in Luz’s direction.

Meanwhile, Luz maintained her stride and reached out, hoping to grab a hold of the presently invisible doorknob on the first attempt. Much to her surprise, her palm crashed into the smooth, enchanted opener just as she reached the wall, allowing her to pull back and cast open their means of egress.

Seeing the welcoming light of the Secret Room of Shortcuts dead ahead, Amity didn’t look back when she felt the spotlight fall on her again. Instead, she drew up a wicked grin and let her rebellious streak carry her through the portal. Luz followed close behind, slamming the seamless doorway shut just as the pursuing guard crossed the locker room threshold.

\---

After what felt like the most frantic dash of their young lives, Amity and Luz pushed through the door that lead them to their schools exterior. There, they were met with a sudden, chilling breeze, owing to their still-damp swimsuits and hair. As they sidled out past the thorny shrubbery, they also found that the courtyard had grown much darker, now that the moon overhead had begun to set.

Still, though, they kept up their sprint down the main walkway and past several pairs of coven banners. Only after reaching the base of the abomination banner pole did they slow to a stop and allow their bodily exertion to catch up with them. The chase had been a rush, to be sure, but as far as they could tell, they had come out on top.

“I think…I think we lost them,” Luz eventually concluded while panting moderately.

While nodding in agreement, Amity leaned backward against the pole and slowly slid down until she was seated squarely on the ground.

“Yeah…I think you’re right.”

Then, without prompting, the green-haired witch started to laugh, as if she’d just heard a funny joke. Even between wheezes, her peals of laughter carried on, causing her companion to smile reflexively.

“What’s up?” Luz asked, now wondering if she’d missed out on something. But soon, she couldn’t hold back her laughter, either. Very little of the past hour or so had been particularly humorous. But even so, something about their grand escape felt too perfect – and something about Amity’s laugh felt too infectious, to boot.

On and on the duo continued, laughing until their ribs hurt. In time, even the coyotes in the surrounding woods wondered what the fuss was about. But neither girl wanted to stop, not after the night they’d had. It had been a close call on multiple occasions, but neither of them would have traded a second of it for the world – or even for a gold pendant.


End file.
